Downtown Express takes a look at that half-mile pedestrian walkway at West Street, where, due to construction, cyclists are supposed to dismount and walk their bikes from Chambers Street to Albany Street. Unsurprisingly, pretty much nobody obeys the rules, and last month a cyclist reportedly hit a woman in the leg on purpose after she yelled at him and his buddies to walk their bikes. Now one community board member is talking about requiring licenses......

Better late than never: The Port Authority turned over part of the World Trade Center site to developer Larry Silverstein. This parcel of land is where two of the five planned towers will be built. As part of Silverstein's deal with the Port Authority back in 2006, the PA would control the land but Silverstein, who held the lease to the WTC during the attacks, would be able to build on top of it. The......

The fate of Pier 40, located at West Houston Street on the Hudson, was much discussed and debated last year, and 2008 seems to be a year of further reflection. At one point, there was a $625 million idea for it to become an elaborate entertainment venue with a Cirque du Soleil theater, restaurants, and more, while opposing forces wanted there simply to be more green space. In the waning weeks of December, another......

This week, reports the Downtown Express, the Landmarks Preservation Commission recommended that architects incorporate elements of the Battery Maritime Building's original architecture into a proposed plan to renovate and expand the ferry terminal. The Dermot Company seeks to develop a glass boutique hotel (complete with roof lounge) and specialty foods marketplace above the Beaux Arts ferry terminal. The changes at the Battery Maritime Building gives us an inside look at the politics of historic preservation,......

Five architectural firms have banded together to brainstorm ideas for adding green space to the far west side from the Village to Tribeca, also known as Hudson Square. A plan to add more garbage trucks to the neighborhood, writes Downtown Express's Patrick Hedlund, led local stakeholders to elicit architectural visions. Five firms - Arquitectonica GEO , FLAnK, LTL Architects, SPaN and Zakrzewski + Hyde (in association with Starr Whitehouse Landscape Architects and Planners) - were......

Did you excel at yo-yo and rock, scissor, paper as a kid? Well, this past weekend was the 1st ever New York State Yo-Yo Contest at the South Street Seaport. From what we hear, excelling in yo-yo is the way to get all the ladies (they dig the finger dexterity and creativity with the yo-yo). It's not just the kids that are throwing the yo-yo around either. Downtown Express tells us that Riad Nasr, the......

What does NY need? Another historic district, of course! Downtown Express is reporting that Community Board 3 has finally voted in favor of the Lower East Side Historic District, a proposed 20-block area that comprises 450 buildings from East Houston to Canal and from Allen to Essex streets. Officials at the Lower East Side Tenement Museum have been vocal proponents of the district, which has been pushed forward by the Lower East Side Preservation......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: barricaded EDP in Brooklyn Heights, person on the tracks at 4th Avenue in Park Slope, and a police car MVA in Williamsburg. Our frenemies at Gawker started a weekend edition. Thank God-- we thought we were going to have to wait until Monday to hear about a bald Britney Spears. Worst Boss Ever: Dr. Bartha's assistant, nearly flattened in the Upper East Side explosion, is suing his estate for......

After watching Borat, we wondered which parts of the movie were real and which were staged. We may never know, but now it seems the part where the frat boys pick up a hitchhiking Borat was semi-staged, as the two of the three are suing to stop the movie from showing their images as well as unspecified monetary damages. The fraternity brothers, who have since left or graduated from University of South Carolina, say that......

Last February, the NYPD announced that it was conducting "Operation Lucky Bag" to suss out criminals. The police leave a shopping cart, purse or bag on a subway platform to tempt thieves, and then arrest crooks who try to steal the items! Of course, lawyers are concerned about entrapment, and Gothaimst had wondered what if someone, trying to be a good samaritan, attempted to take the bags to the lost and found. Well, someone......

And another bicycle story! Downtown Express this week has a really good piece on the dramatic rise in cyclists over the past few years. Currently about 120,000 New Yorkers ride their bikes for "everything from commuting to exercise to grocery shopping" and as more riders hit the streets the number of fatalities has declined. "There are about 3,000 bicycle fatalities injuries a year" a spokesman from Transportation Alternatives told the Express.Morning bike riding is......

This sort of makes us feel better about the mistakes Gothamist makes in our every day life. An FBI agent accidentally fired his gun in front of the Moondance Diner two weeks ago during a bank fraud arrest. Apparently the sting operation got a little dicey when the agent tried to arrest one of the criminals, leading him to draw his gun. But police believe that when the agent went to put his gun back......

Nearly two inches of rain fell on Central Park during the wee hours this morning. We are getting a break until tomorrow morning as the long tentacle of rain plows up against the ridge to our east and stalls out. The Weather Service is saying drizzle, showers and maybe a thunderstorm are on tap for tomorrow. The Weather Channel says "no way", calling for cloudy skies in the morning and a peak of sun tomorrow......

Have you ever found yourself walking in the Lower East Side at night thinking 'Geez, I hope this neighborhood looks exactly like this forever?" Well, it seems that you aren't the only one. Thanks to the efforts of the Lower East Side Tenement Museum at least some of it might never change a bit. The museum, despite vocal opposition among many property owners in the area, has asked Community Board 3 for assisstance in......

Some parents down in Tribeca are getting pissed with Mister Bloomberg. Back in 2004 the Mayor and the city via Deputy Doctoroff brokered out a deal with the community and a group of private developers. The community ceded public land to the developers, who are putting up two high-rise developments on the site bounded by Greenwich, West, Warren, Murray and Chambers Streets, in exchange for a community recreation center and a much needed school......

Various city agencies have long been trying to crack down on counterfeit goods, from handbags on Canal Street to clothing in the Garment District. Recently, a judge ruled that landlords of buildings that house counterfeit vendors can now be held liable. Landlords will have to post signs saying these are counterfeit vendors and possibly evict the vendors as well. Hmm, Gothamist hates to be cynical, but those signs will be exactly what tourists want to......

The protestor who stripped down in Washington Square Park, with the words "Stop the War" painted all over her body, had her case of "public indecency" thrown out by a judge. Haila Faisal was in Criminal Court yesterday, armed with lawyer Ron Kuby, to argue her case, but Judge Stanley Katz said the complaint was too vague (or as the NY Times put it, "too scantily described to warrant prosecution") and therefore threw out the......

The big news rocking the world of Democratic mayoral hopefuls is that Reverend Al Sharpton won't endorse a candidate this year. In other words, the Reverend Al is just like Gothamist and many other voters: Wondering if there are any strong messages in the Democratic candidates. He noted that this will be the first time in 20 years he will not be involved in a Democratic primary, but, of course, Sharpton did leave himself an......

It's the spirit of old "We're pioneering artists" SoHo versus new "I'm flipping this condo" SoHo: The owners of a building on the southwest corner of Houston and Broadway are fighting to take down a sculpture on the outside wall of the building. Known as "The Wall," and also a landmark, according to the city's Landmarks Commission, Forrest Myers' 1973 sculpture consists of aluminum beams sticking out of the wall; it hasn't been there the......